Regulating workflow speed through product architecture: experiences from the Swedish magazine industry

Coordination of content providers, producers and distributors has become increasingly important in the magazine industry when working with short life-cycle products. It is therefore interesting to study the product development and manufacturing process of magazines because of its short lead times. Production difficulties in the workflow process are often consequences of the product architecture. The aim of this research was to establish a concept for magazine architecture which could lead to substantial lead time reduction and improved product quality. In this research we studied magazine productions from Sweden's major magazine producer on both the customer site and from the manufacturing site. Monthly magazines, which had long time records about workload and production workflow were selected. The analysis was based on production data from the graphic arts service providers and from the editorial staff combined with open-ended interviews. The analysis shows that a re-arranged product architecture can increase both productivity and quality. It is clear that the product architecture of magazines regulates the workflow speed. The possibility of changing the product architecture might be difficult due to old traditions and different cultures within the editorial and manufacturing units. A solution to these problems should be sought through common efforts of both sides.